The Night of The Broken Wings
by Nena-Daconte
Summary: A young sheriff calls the team to solve a series of murders that have been going on for a decade. Little town Grace starts revealing its most deep secrets as the team discovers that, in this town, everybody hides something.
1. Don't Talk to Strangers, Meggie

**Author's Note**

**Hello there readers! (If there are any of you out there, LOL) Well, I been planning this story for a while now and I'm not a rookie on CM's fics but there's a few thing you should know about this one.**

**Pairings: García-Dereck and slight Hotch-OC ( haven't made up my mind on that one yet)**

**No Prentiss here, sadly and I'm afraid there might be one or two details that may not fit, so just give me a shout out to fix them**

**Sadly, Winter Break is approaching fast and on top of that, I have my finals next week,. Even thought I have already written the second chapter, things may get slow after that one is out.**

**That's pretty much it….Enjoy!**

**Chapter one: Don't talk to strangers Meggie.**

"Are we even close Matt?" Christina had been holding her frustration back for a while now. She enjoyed talking to her boyfriend as they circled around pointlessly on the neighborhood, but the streets looked darker now and the short nurse costume she was wearing had become very unpractical when the temperature dropped.

"I'm pretty sure that's the same three we have been passing all night…and the same yellow house…and the same tracks…we are definitely circling around! Are you sure you still want to go to this thing?" Matt didn't really expect an answer. In a small conservative town like Grace there were only one or two events that break the peaceful routine. The Night of the Angel was one of them. "Fine, let's ask for directions."

"Ok, but let me ask this time. Your fangs don't really help your diction, babe." she pointed the vampire fake plastic fangs on his mouth with a giggle. She was truly gorgeous. Her pale skin and long wavy blond hair brighten up with the moon light and her green eyes glowed in the night. "Excuse me? Goodnight, my boyfriend and I are a bit lost and we were wondering if you knew were Lemontise Street is?" with a soft polite voice she asked for directions to a man walking nearby.

At first sight, the man on the sidewalk appeared not to hear what the girl was saying, but slowly he began to move towards the car. He dragged his left feet and his face was contracted in an amused grin.

"Are you hurt?" Christina noticed the blood spots on the blue shirt of the man when he was closer to the car.

The man nodded negatively and kept dragging his left feet. He walked at an awkward position. Hiding a hand behind his back and using the other one to pull his hurt leg.

"Chris, he is wearing a costume! Relax, dear." Matt recognized the fear on his girlfriends face, but he had found a much more logical explanation to the behavior of the man. It was Halloween after all, and they were wearing costumes as well.

Christina didn't relax. She was regretting now deciding to attend to the party. They should have stay home as her mother suggested. _"I'll take good care of her."_ that's what Matt had said to her mother before they left. _He'll take care of me._ Christina thought as the stranger approached the window next to her.

She distracted with the sound of steps and giggles from across the street. She managed to see the group of kids singing Trick or Treat before turning around and meeting Matt's look. He was smiling confidently, amused by her fear. He looked so handsome! Twilight got nothing on this senior football player-vampire with olive skin and white shining smile. She couldn't smile back because the next thing she saw was the firm and steady hit of an ax going straight to her chest.

Dr. Juarez was on call when Matt got to the Grace Hospital. He almost crashed the emergency entry. A small group of doctors approached the car and Vera Juarez had to push her way to the crowd. Halloween was the busiest day for the Emergency room of this small town and it was normal to attend small crashed and last year they even got to save some kid from overdosing but that was as far as it went. She was not prepared for what she saw when she opened the driver's door. Matt Salas, the same intrepid teenager boy that she had attended so many times for sport injuries was clenching to the wheel, shaking from heads to toes.

"Matt! Can you hear me? What happened? Are you hurt?" Juarez started questioning the boy as her colleagues examined him. He was wearing a vampire costume and maybe that's why Dr. Juarez didn't noticed the blood at first sight, but after taking a second look she noticed the whole front part of the car was filled with blood.

"Help her. Help her. Help her." Matt kept staring at the horizon with an emotionless expression as he repeated over and over the same thing. "Help her. Help her."

Just then Dr. Juarez noticed there was another person in the vehicle. She looked those glassy empty eyes once and a chill ran through her body. Christina Long was sixteen. Juarez had assisted her birth and she had held the hand of her mom that day. She had always been a nice girl who often came to the hospital for periodical checkups on her asthma. The chest that she had examined many times now lay broken apart with deep cuts and the green eyes that sparked every time she gave away a lollipop after the exams now were empty and cold.

DR. Juarez rushed back to Matt. "Who did this? Matt, tell me who! Who did this to her?" she screamed hysterically as she contained the tears.

"A cop killed her. She asked for directions to a man. He was dressed as a cop." Matt could only explain that far before the doctors placed an oxygen mask over his mouth.

At 4 a.m Saturday night, a call woke up Sheriff Roselyn Tale. She put on her brand new uniform with shaky hands. She wasn't surprised to receive the call reporting a murder. She already knew it would happen.

The team met at the airport. Most of them already had three of four coffees and now they were hyperactively passing around the waiting room. Only one sat down calmly waiting for their flight. The man with the black suit inspired a sense of indescribable respect. Aaron Hotchner was a man of few words.

"How bad do you think it is?" Penelope lead the race with six cups of coffee and her teeth were shaking.

"Let's see gorgeous…first of all, you're coming with us. We have packed for two weeks. Hotch had a free day with his son and he called it off. It's bad, baby girl." Agent Morgan replied as he put his arm around her shoulders for her to cuddle in.

"**All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."**

**Edmund Burke quotes (British Statesman and Philosopher, 1729-1797)**


	2. Don't Leave My Side, Meggie

**Hello :D I must say I'm surprised by the immediate reaction that followed the first chapter. I thank everyone that added me to the alert list and I might be hallucinating but I spotted a few pen names that already had reviewed or read my other CM stories. Thank you all for the support. Read&Enjoy!**

**Chapter Two: Don't leave my side , Meggie.**

She couldn't stop looking at the picture. Those green eyes seem to follow her everywhere. She could see them even when she closed her eyes. She knew they were going to be fixed on her mind for the rest of her life. Accusing her. Hunting her. _Why didn't you save me? _Christina Long asked from inside the photo nailed on the white blackboard. It was the photo taken the day of her fifteen birthday.

_Why didn't you stop him?_ Those green eyes begged for a reply inside the next picture. A shot taken the day the football team won the championship. She looked so perfect and naïve, dressed with her cheerleader uniform. There was something about her that stood up from the rest of the girls on the squad. She glowed. The rest of the girls could just watch as she outshined them. Now she was gone. Somebody had shot down her light.

"Tale? They are here." Officer Josh felt guilty when his buss gave a light jump on her chair. She had been so lost on her thoughts she hadn't noticed when he came in, giving him the chance to observe her at one of the few moments when she let her guard down. He was a married man, true; but he couldn't take away his look from her as he followed her to the main entrance to receive the FBI team. "Are you ok?" he whispered close to her ear and she just nodded in response.

"Sheriff Tale?" Hotch asked with the same polite neutral tone he used always. "My name is Aaron Hotchner. These are agents Reid, Jareau, Morgan,Rossi and tech analyst Penelope García."

"Follow me to the space we have assigned for you." Rose conducted the team to the conference room with nervousness. She didn't know yet how to manage these official meetings (this was her first one ever) and that irritated her a little. An awkward silence settled in the room until Rossi decided to make things easier.

"Is he the victim?" Rossi unattached the photography from the white board and passed it to the rest of the agents who had taken a seat as they scan the case files that were scattered around the oval table. They all felt a connection to the young girl immediately. Even from a piece of paper, she had this essence impossible to ignore.

"Christina Long, aged sixteen. She was driving to a party with her boyfriend Matt Salas, eighteen. They stopped to ask for directions and a man approached the vehicle. Caucasian, middle age, mentally ill or with some kind of retardation" Rose started relaxing as she enlisted the facts. Facts; dead numbers and letters that summed up the life of a person. She was good at handling facts. "He was dressed as cop and apparently he had some injury on his left leg. He stroke twice with an ax before Matt could start the car and ran away."

"A cop?" Hotch was surprised by that detail. He regretted interrupting the sheriff immediately because he could see that she was struggling to talk. She looked young even though she tried to hide it under a makeup and hairstyle that made her look much older. The behavior analysis had to look away embarrassed when the young sheriff met his gaze. He had been so lost on his own thoughts that he hadn't realized he was staring at her.

"That was the description of the boyfriend. It was dark and anyone could have dressed up as a cop. I checked and everyone in my department has a firm allayby." Rose tried to give the team all the details before dropping the bomb that she had been saving for the FBI.

"I don't want to sound harsh but are you sure it was necessary to call us?" everybody turned to JJ but that didn't seemed to make her uncomfortable. Handling the media for the team, she was no stranger to the spotlight "After all, this is a single case and, despite the cruelty or impact of the act, it's still not enough to compose a profile."

"There have been other cases." Sheriff Tale knew the impact of her statement and she waited patiently for all the others to attack her with questions.

"That's not possible. I checked all the files of the jurisdiction. You have had exactly fifteen cases of homicide in your records and except for two they were all closed. A hit and run and a very suspicious suicide. None of them fit. " García blurted out her mind even though she didn't used to participate in the meetings with local authorities. Derek Morgan smiled at her reassuringly and she felt a lot more confident to endure the looks flashing at her.

"They were never reported. What I'm about to confess to you is smoothing extremely delicate and I'm not yet sure how to handle this information. The previous Sheriff was Tom Coletti. He died a month ago." Rose swallowed down the nod shaping up on her throat. She tried to concentrate on a fixed point on the room and he chose the eyes of agent Hotchner. The peace and serenity she found there encouraged her to continue. "After all the paperwork finished and I started settling down I took a look at the closed and unclosed files. There were no open cases of homicides but there have been at least ten missing persons over the last ten years"

"It's an outstanding proportionality in relation with the relatively small population of a town like Grace." Reid had mentally calculated the rate of population and missing persons in matter of seconds; nobody in the team was surprised but clearly Sheriff Tale was relief to confirm something abnormal was going on inside her town.

"So many people missing…why no one is looking for them?" Derek as always, magically read the thoughts passing through Penelope's mind who gave him a worried look from across the table.

"Grace has been struggling to keep up with the recession." the sheriff's face adopted a cold and serious expression. "We used to be a mining town a decade ago but the business died out. Everyone who could move out already did and whoever is left have to rebuild their lives with the leftovers. Many people live day by day and we have a surprisingly high rate of alcoholism and other addictions. Those ten persons are a mixture of prostitutes, homeless people and alcoholics."

Derek looked over to Penelope. She looked like a lost puppy with big shinny eyes. She was a colorful person, both on her clothing as her personality and you could tell that the dark tale of the town was really freaking her out. He took her hand under the table without anyone else noticing and he started caressing it smoothly. Penelope gave him a thankful look and an imperceptible smile.

"Why the Sheriff didn't call in the cases? It makes no sense." JJ tried unsuccessfully to connect the pieces of the puzzle.

"Maybe…" as usually, Rossi let the atmosphere of suspense growing for a while before ending the phrase, "…he knew who the killer was."

He was truly joyful. Joyful as he hadn't been since them both parted away. Joyful because jut an hour ago a true miracle knocked on his door. the "miracle" was blonde and beautiful as Meggie had been. She had an innocent smile and the skin of her tiny hand as he reached for the candy he offered was soft and tender. God, she even had the right costume! Best of all, he didn't even had to hunt her down. She knocked on the door and she reached for the candy innocently...a minute later she was laying on the carpet with a broken neck.

He didn't felt guilty after killing her. He didn't felt guilt as he tear apart her tiny body with the ax in the basement. He didn't felt guilt at all when he disposed the body with pieces of the angel costume still floating away on the woods. He did hear the desperate screaming of the mother at the street, looking for her daughter. "Jamie? Jamie, answer to me! Where are you? I told you to stay close!" the hysterical voice of the lady pierced through his ears.

He felt no guilt at all because even when he could hear the voice of the mother calling for her daughter, he could no longer listen to the voices inside his head.

The phone buzzed on the table and Sheriff Tale hesitated a bit before answering. She wished she had never done that. After listening to the ranger, she communicated the news to the team. "There's a second victim. A 10 year old girl named Jamie."

You could feel the sadness in the air. Many of the men in the room had years of experience working head to head with the most cruel and soulless criminals. Others like García let out a small sob. JJ's mind immediately ran through all the memories she had of her own child. Everyone had their way to deal with these things. It sucked equally for all of them and they all felt their heart sunk. Because know they knew for sure, no matter if they caught the killer or not, damage was irreversibly done in the heart of the town.

**Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. ~Rabindranath Tagore**


	3. Let the Adults Talk, Meggie

**Hello readers! Well this is coming out faster than I thought it would be. I want to thank everyone who took the time to review, it's really encouraging for me as writer. I need to give you a warn, the following 2 chapters are mostly emotional and explanation ones (I know it's boring but it's also necessary) but I included an exciting twist at the end of the following chapter to make up for all the emotional dramatic contain.**

**Chapter 3: Let the adults talk, Meggie.**

Aaron Hotchner felt particularly exhausted that morning for three different reasons. One, he was already having trouble to sleep before adding to his imagination the images of the little's girl body torn to pieces on the forensics table. Two, his hand were tied at the moment. The reason why he was so good at his job was because he was as obsessed with it as the people he chased after. He was a puzzle maker, and he couldn't start solving this puzzle until he gathered all the pieces. t was extremely frustrating.

The third reason had a name, a plaque and a pair of brown dazzling eyes. Hotch had been driving the whole way with a nod of tension building on his neck because he was forcing himself to fix his eyes on the road. In this way, he could ignore those brown sparkly eyes that troubled him from the moment both crossed the first look. Rose Tale was a sparkly and usually joyful person who wasn't used to being quiet for so long. Obviously the silence in the car was starting to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Do you think the kid could remember anything else? I mean, Matt is not one of the brightest persons I know, it was dark and he must be under a dozen of painkillers and drugs right now." She started biting off her nails. It was a habit that rested to her already young image a few years; when you're running a town, that's not exactly the effect you'd like to cause.

"Maybe." Hotch immediately felt that his answer disappointed the Sheriff so he explained a bit further, "Memories are a thought subject. If you question a witness to soon after the event, he'll probably omit important details but if you wait too long he might start adding stuff that he imagines. How well do you know the kid?"

"I went to school with his older brother." Rose's smile made Hotch suspect that she might have shared something more than classes with the brother. "He left a few years ago to study arts in New York. He must be on his way here, I guess."

"What about Christina's family?" Hotchner knew how fast rumors spread on small communities.

"A whole different story." Rose's eyes filled with sadness immediately and Hotch felt a flick of pain on his own chest. "A few years ago, his father lost his job. After the last leftovers of the mining he dedicated his free time to drink away his pension. He died three years ago in consequence of an alcoholic congestion. My first duty as a police officer was breaking the news to his family. It sucked."

"It always does." Hotch softened his expression as he parked in front of the hospital.

"Hey beauty, just checking on my favorite baby girl…" Derek entered the hotel room without knocking, holding two lattes. Garcia had installed there her headquarters because the reception was better and she could have a little privacy.

"Your favorite? Out of how many?" Penelope raised an eyebrow as her face emerged from a bunch of computer monitors and cables.

"I love when you get possessive." Derek kissed her forehead as he positioned himself behind her chair and took a look at the monitors. He could sense the smell of her strawberry essence floating directly towards him "Are we making any advances?"

"Ugghhh." Penelope threw her head back without realizing how little space that position left between Derek's lips and hers. _Perfect alignment for a Spiderman kiss_, she thought before blushing furiously, without knowing that was exactly the same thing her best friend was thinking. "I 'm lost here, Hot Stuff. I got nothing to work with. Reid, JJ and Rossi are working on a preliminary profile, but they are walking in the dark until Tale and Hotch gather some more information."

"This is going to be a hard one. In a small town like this the community bounds are very solid and people must be surprised to find out one of their neighbors is a sociopath." Derek was just speaking his mind, but when he saw the worried face of Penelope, he added, "We'll catch this bastard, baby girl. Eventually, they all make a mistake and we'll be ready when that happens."

"Baby girl?" Penelope repeated the nickname as she took a sip of the coffee.

"My one and only…" Morgan added with a smile.

Rose had never been a fan from hospitals. All those white walls and floors got on her nerves. She tried to hide her disgust in front of agent Hotchner because there was something about that man that made her feel like she had something to prove to him. They reached the room 1209 and entered discretely. Matt was sitting on the bed shirtless and with an empty gaze.

"We were just settling the discharge papers. Besides a few bumps and bruises, he should be alright. " the doctor took a last look at his patient and then left the room wondering what should that boy have done to get two police officers visiting his room.

"Hey Matty." Tale couldn't repress a maternal smile. She couldn't stop thinking about how similar was Matt to his brother.

"Rose…" Matt saluted the Sheriff with familiarity and sadness on his voice. He had been nervous when the officers questioned him about Chris' death but this was different. He still remembered all those afternoons that his brother and her spend at his house, planning a wedding that never came through. It was hard to see her as an authority instead of part of the family.

"Matthew, my name is Agent Aaron Hotchner and I'm going to have to answer some of my questions, alright?" Hotch interrupted the family reunion to start the interrogatory.

"I'm ready. Whatever it takes to find that son of a bitch, I'll do It." his voice sounded more mature and confident now.

"Did you know the killer? I mean, have you ever seen him around? This is a small town and everyone knows everyone." Hotch started with a basic question that however, puzzled him. The killer hadn't done any effort to hide or so ever after committing its crime, even when he knew there was a witness.

"I have been replaying his face over and over in my mind. His face somehow seems familiar but I can't tell where I have seen him." the frustration and anger in his voice were palpable. Hotch was sympathetic to the feeling of impotency the boy was experiencing.

"Why were you out so late, Matt?" Rose asked the teenager and immediately his expression changed to a worried one. "Matt…" Rose urged him to answer.

"It was so stupid, but Chris really wanted to go. She spend so many time behind the books that I agreed it was a good idea to go to a party." Matt took a deep breath before continuing his explanation. She knew what would be the reaction of Rose. "We were heading to the lake to celebrate the Broken Wings´ Night"

"Matt! How could you? She was somebody's little girl and you morons turned to whole thing into a show. It makes me sick!" Officer Tale shifted into police mode amazingly fast and Hotch tried to figure out what were they talking about.

"It's not what you think Rose! Chris really felt bad for the girl. She told me we should bring some flowers to the grave before the party. I don't know; show some respect…she was a good person." Matt's voice broke off and Tale soften her expression immediately; after all, they boy had received enough punishment for his actions.

"Excuse me, what are you talking about? The night of the what?" Aaron Hotchner was not an impatient man, but it bothered him to be excluded from which what appeared a very relevant conversation of the case.

"It's just some stupid things kids in town do. It started ten years back, I had just finished the academy and it was one of my first cases. We found a little girl dead on the highway, victim of a hit and run, only six years old. She had some kind of mental retardation and she was dressed up like an angel, I guess for Halloween. We never found any record that indicate that she lived here or, well; actually we never found any record. We only knew her name was Megan because it was written on a golden bracelet she was wearing. My boss really dig into the case, he didn't let anyone help him with all the paper work or anything…it was just sad that nobody was looking for her."

"They were visiting the grave?" Hotch tried to connect the dots in the timeline.

"Well, it has become sort of a tradition. Kids gather around, drink some beer and wait to see if the gosh makes it appearance. I can't believe there are people willing to party a tragedy like that." Rose sounded aroused and a bit offended but she dissimulated the best he could.

"It's no big deal…we do it just for fun…"

"How will you feel when Christina turns into the next town's ghost?" Rose words were hard and cold but she didn't regret speaking them out.

"I think we have something. Ten years ago, the killing began. Ten years ago, this girl died. Maybe she has something to do with all this." Hotch broke off the argument with the authority he was used to inflict on others. He wondered if that was all Rose saw through, an old grumpy man. He shook his head trying to forget the unpleasant thought.

"I told you, we found nothing." Tale reminded him.

"We will just have to look up deeper." Hotch took out his mobile and speed dialed a number. "Hey, García, I think we got something."

"It's like a game or something?" García asked Morgan just after she hung up the phone. She was frowning and even if she tried to look irritated, all Derek could thought about was who adorable she was when she frowned.

"What, baby girl?" Morgan asked smiling as he leaned next to her, supporting all his weight on the desk full of cables.

"You give me less and less information each time jut to prove how good am I?" Even if she tried to appear bothered by the complicated task she had been assigned, deep inside she enjoyed the challenge.

"What do you have to track down?"

"A ghost." Penelope responded cryptically as her fingers slide over the keyboard as many time they had before.

**The ghosts of the tribe**

**Crouch in the nights beside the ghost of a fire, they try to**

**Remember the sunlight,**

**Light has died out of their skies.**

**ROBINSON JEFFERS, Apology for Bad Dreams**


	4. Chasing Cars

**Chapter Four: Chasing cars**

"Is your tech girl that good?" Rose still felt a bit skeptic about Hotchner's theory about the relation between the girl and the killings but she also felt embarrassed for not considering it before.

"The best." Morgan's face lightened up with pride. Rossi and JJ exchanged a knowing look. Both of them had suspected for a while now that their friends' relationship had turned into something more.

"And I bet she is anxious to rub it in our faces." Hotch turned on the speaker and the whole room quiet down.

"I'm so awesome." the cheerful tone of Penelope predicted good news. "You will really need to step up if you want to challenge me, beauties. Next time don't even give me a name, just the zodiac sign of the target and I'll figure out the rest out…bring it on!"

"García…" Hotch sighted and rolled his eyes but Rose caught a little smile forming on his face for a millisecond. Of course, as soon as he realized someone was looking, smile was gone.

"Fine, let's get down to business. I pulled out the records of all mental facilities on the state and checked for a little girl that fitted in name and description. Results, none. Then I widen up the search to schools and hospitals. Results, none." Penelope knew the agents wanted to cut to the point but she wanted them to understand they have thrown her a curve ball here and she had scored a fucking homerun. "Just when I was about to give up on my career and ask to my Hot Chocolate God to run away with me to an island…" Rose gave a questioning look to Hotch and he pointed at Derek, who could only smile.

"García!" Rossi called the young tech attention.

"…I found a police record. Apparently officers in New York reported a case of domestic abuse. A woman tried to drown a little boy and a newborn baby on the tub. Both suffered mental retardation and the woman showed signs of delusion. The baby was called Meggie. When the officers got to the scene, it was too late. The woman had taken off with the children and she practically vanished."

"Do we have a name?" Reid interrupted the story.

"Silvia Festa. Apparently she was a religious woman who thought she had been cursed with her children disease" Penelope answered with anger on her voice.

"Thank you, baby doll. We'll stay in touch." Derek goodbye

"You better, Hot Stuff."

"Does the name ring any bells?" Rossi questioned the Sheriff. She nodded negatively."We need García to track down any family the woman could have. She would need to stay low profile and with two small kids who are ill, she definitely needed help." Rossi continued.

"Excuse me, agents. Tale, we have a domestic fight downtown." officer Josh interrupted the meeting.

"It's Sheriff, not Tale." Rose corrected him with a light frown. Whoever she couldn't be mad at him. She knew that they were the same age but he had a wife and a toddler back home and sure needed the promotion more than she did. She didn't quite understood why Coletti had recommended her for the job and not him. "You shouldn't bother me with this Josh. You can handle this on your own."

"Sorry, Sheriff. But your old sweetheart is involved." Josh enjoyed the blush that spread through her chief's face and he couldn't help to smile. Then he noticed one of the FBIs was giving him a murderous look. Agent Hotchner, he recalled his name. _Oh well, another one with a crush on Rosy, _he thought. "Also Christina's mom and Matt are tangled up. And by the way it's Officer Josh." he mocked her as she rolled his eyes and Agent Hotchner took his coat.

"Where are you going?" A confused JJ asked Hotch. Rose also gave him a questioning look.

"I'll join them." he explained and then gave a look to Rose. "If you don't mind, of course."

Rose gave her permission with a small smile playing on her lips and something really similar to a smile appeared on Hotch's lips. JJ and Rossi exchanged a knowing gaze as they saw them leave.

"Houston, we have another man down." Rossi joked once they were alone.

"This is bad, David. This is Hotch we are talking about. It sure takes a special woman to make him smile." JJ noted as she picked up the phone and star dialing Penelope's number. After all, this was still a murder investigation.

"Wait...Are you saying? No way, I mean…he's Hotch!" Dereck still tried to make some sense out of this.

"Well, you did fell for Penelope." Reid interrupted.

"Hey, you got it!" Rossi congratulated Reid. The senior agent knew that the kid had trouble spotting chemistry between people around.

"I've been practicing." Reid smiled back looking like a six year old proud of his work.

"Reid! I don't have a thing for Penelope." Derek tried to deny it but he immediately had to face the tree skeptic looks of his co workers. "Bullshit. Hang up that phone JJ. I need my daily dosis of sweet baby girl." he took his coat and headed to the town hotel.

The car ride had been silent. Rose felt nervous because she thought maybe Aaron (she had finally allowed herself to call him for his first name, but of course, only inside her mind.) found her plain, stupid or boring. She was not a child. Despite her juvenile looks, a difference no greater than half a decade lied between them. She sighted and let her head resting against the glass.

Hotch interpreted that sight as a sight of boredom. He coursed his educated and reserved manners because he thought that he might come across as boring and stiff to Rose. He hadn't always been like this. He could be quite charming when he let his walls come down, but that didn't happened too often. Maybe, he concluded, he was over thinking the whole thing. What could possibly happen between them if they had never actually held a conversation that didn't involved the case? They would take different paths after catching the unsub, for sure.

Josh is having the time of his life. He felt kind of insulted when they transferred him to the back seat but it happened to be just the right place to appreciate all the unspoken drama taking place in the car. They finally got to the Long's house.

Esther Long was on the porch screaming and threatening two men with a baseball bat. One of the men was Matt who looked embarrassed and had blood on his white shirt. He was sitting on the sidewalk trying to recover. The other man looked very similar to him, but he was taller and stronger. He was screaming to the woman and trying to grab the bat from her hands.

"What the hell?" Rose stared at the scene in disbelief for a few seconds before jumping out of the car.

"They want me to what?" Penelope asked aroused as she stood and began pacing around the room. Morgan sat on the bed knowing it was best to let her express her fury. "Sure thing, let's go to Penelope and lay all our problems on her back! Oh, sure she can take them! She has no other thing to do! She has already find the ghost, let's see if she can find its family!" her voice raised an octave on the end of the last sentence. "Why are you smiling?" she questioned Derek, whose smile just grew bigger.

"You do realize you are speaking of yourself in third person, right?" he mocked his best friend.

"Don't you dare to..!" García was just starting to warm on but something interrupted her lecture. Derek, on a desperate move, pulled her from the waist and, even though he intended to make her land sat next to him on the bed, he miscalculated and she end up on top of his legs.

For some moments they just froze there, staring into each other's eyes and feeling the warmth of their bodies together. The temperature of the room raised a few degrees quickly and Penelope forgot that she must breath and blink. She didn't want to move an inch, so the moment wouldn't end. Sadly, she had to blink at some point and when she opened her eyes again, Derek had moved to the other side of the room. He was obiously embarrassed by his actions and after mumbling a poor excuse, he left the room. Penelope was yet again left with nothing but a dream on her head.

"You sick bastard! How you dare to insult her like that! Her body is not even cold." Esther Long was a tiny skinny woman who looked wore out and had (ojeras) under her eyes. Still, the combination of her voice full of anger and the baseball bat on her right hand make her look threatening. She was insulting Matt, but he wasn't able even to stand up to face her as his nose bleed increased.

"He has had enough, you old bitch! You should be locked up into an asylum" Matt's bother defended him. He had the football player type, tall and strong. "Christina was the only one of your people who was sane."

"Enough!" Rose surprised everyone with a loud and authoritarian voice she didn't knew she had in her. Then she proceeded to put her body between the woman and the men screaming and as soon as she placed her hand on the chest of Matt's bother, he relaxed. "Buck, how could it be possible that every time we see you are in the middle of a fight?"

"Not my fault, beautiful. My brother was here to offer some comfort to that bitch and he received a swing directly to his nose as a welcome." Buck explained the situation as he gave a rude gaze to Hotch who didn't lower his eyes an inch. "Who called the suits?"

"Later." Rose cut him off and then directed to Esther. "Esther, is that true?" the woman lowered her weapon and nodded affirmatively.

"I had a reason." Her eyes were shinny and her voice trembled with pain as she pick up an object from the ground and showed it to the agents. It was a broken flower pot with a note that claimed: _"Now we have Three Angels with broken wings to honor."_

Rose and Buck, who apparently didn't know about the flowers, gave a harsh

look to Matt. "It wasn't me!" he defended outraged as he tried to clean the blood on his face.

Mary had just finished placing the second flowerpot at the house entry. It was something rather unusual for her to come out of her house. She had been a rather shy and accumulative person and now that she had just turned 78, she got the privilege of staying home all day with her cats. However, she had seen the murder of the girl who lived across the steet on the news and she wanted to express her condolences. She liked the kid. Mary recalled how the same day she had been killed, she had waved her good bye from across the street.

Mary knew about the Night of the Broken Wings. Ten years ago, when it all started, she had read the news on the newspapers and cut the news page to pile it up together with the rest of the scraps she collected. After placing the first pot, Mary remembered about the young woman killed recently and thought it would be nice to make her a gift too. So she walked all the way to the Long's house and then to the girls house across the street. Quite a challenge for her old rusty knees.

Just when she was leaving the house, she heard a noise coming from the bushes. Her heart raced for a second but then she considered the possibility of finding a new sibling for her cats back at home. She kneeled down and practically crawled to the bushed while she mumbled. "Come little, kitty, kitty! Come to momma!" It wasn't a cat what she found behind the bush but it was too late for anyone to hear her screaming because a heavy grip chocked her breath.

**"Hi my name is Mr. Williams and I live in this hole. I have several children who I'm turning into killers. Wait til they grow up." - David Berkowitz**


	5. Our past builds our future

**Chapter 5: Past is what builds our future**

"Does anywhere knows where Rose is?" Hotch asked the team gathering their stuff to go home.

"Do you mean Sheriff Tale?" Reid discretely corrected his boss. "She stormed out after receiving a call from the Conciliation Board. They were not happy when they discover it had been another murder."

"Any clue where she was heading?" Hotch felt a bit embarrassed when his coworkers smiled among each other. After all, they were behavior analysts and they earned their paycheck breaking down other people's minds.

"The hotel bar. You need a ride? I'm meeting Penelope there." Derek offered with a kind voice. Hotch knew there was a silent complicity between them He was not blind and everyone saw how his face lightened up every time García's name popped out in the conversation.

Hotch accepted the ride and the two agents left together. "Do you think this is going to end well?" JJ motherly consulted Rossi for his opinion.

"I'm sure hope so, dear." Rossi responded with a shrug while he took his coat and turned off the lights of the conference room. "If anybody deserves a happy ending, that's Hotchner."

"Fill it!" Roses blurry voice barked the order to the bartender. A skinny jumpy kid who doubted before pouring the alcohol down into her glass. "Good boy! Remember I can put you away in a blink if you refuse to serve me. I'll call it denial of services to a public server or some shit like that…" Rose congratulated and threatened the boy at the same tame as she sipped down the Tequila shot.

"I really don't think you should intimidate people with your charge." Hotch kindly took away the shot she just drank and took a sit next to her.

"How..?" Rose began to question but after she took a look around she quickly found Derek sat on one of the background tables. He was obviously anxious and looking at his clock.

"What did the Board said?" Hotch decided to get to the point right the way.

"Ughhh!" Rose laid her hard on the counter and… roared? It made Aaron smile. "They told me there had been numerous complains about the killings. They wasn't to take me off the charge." when she lifted her head. Hotch could see there were some tears forming on her eyes.

"Who would be your replacement?" Hotch signaled the bartender and asked for a glass of red wine.

"Josh. Freaking golden Boy of the traffic patrol!" her voice raised a few decibels. She ran her hand through her hair and bit her lip to keep from crying.

"He's not cut out for the job." Aaron quickly concluded. Then he turned around and gave a sympathetic smile to Morgan who just nodded in response.

"And you're saying I am?" Rosa was completely in shock.

"People listen to you. You spotted a pattern before anyone else noticed something was going on here. You took interest for the missing people when nobody thought they were worth the time." A shade of admiration filled Hotch's eyes. "You are definitely cut out for this."

"And you?" Rose found herself distracted of the horrible situation in town by this talk and she wanted to make sure to keep it going as far as she could.

"I had been through things; things that changed me. I'm nowhere near to who I was before taking this job and that's somehow kind of good because the man I was before would not be able to do the job." Aaron found himself revealing something personal about him, something he rarely did. There was just something in her eyes that made him want to drop his defenses. "I almost wish I wasn't so good at it."

"Then make a mistake. " Rose didn't know where that came from. She was not usually that kind of girl, but she knew he was going to need some help fighting off his conscience. "One you won't regret." She leaned forward and gave her a sweet little kiss. He didn't rejected it at all but instead he pulled her closer.

At that exact same moment Derek pulled out his phone across the room. He knew Penelope would never forgive him if he didn't tell her the news immediately. Just when he opened a text came in from García.

_Gather the team around, hot chocolate dream ;) Your sexy tech goddess just pulled it out again!_

"_Fuck!"_ Morgan thought. He looked the lovebirds making out on the bar and he knew he was going to have to break them apart. "Fuck!" he repeated out loud as he started walking towards them.

"Silvia Festa had a brother. They were separated when they were little because he came here to live with his father. He took the name of his father and she the name of her mother; that's why the records couldn't found a match" García cut out to the point this time; she knew time was essential and she gave each person a folder with the information she had gathered. "His name was Frederic Jones and about a week ago he was taken into the hospital for a severe contusion in the head. He is still there."

Hotch, Rose and Rossi rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile Reid and JJ decide to take a look at the Jones' residence. Derek and García are left together in the conference room and for a while an uncomfortable silence sets in. Derek watched her friend typing furiously for about ten minutes before he decided to talk.

"Is there a problem, baby girl?" Derek only asked to initiate a conversation; he could immediately tell something was wrong with her.

"Did Hotch finally made his move?" Penelope's eyes are fixed on the screen, but her mind is far away from there.

"Yeah, he finally did." Derek is a smart man who knows he's walking on thin ice.

"Good." Penelope's voice sounds irritated and a bit …jealous? "At least we know there's a man around here. That's what real men do, Derek." she turns her chair around to face his friend. "They take what they what."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Derek's voice is a bit too harsh but he feels slightly offended by her challenging tone

"Means make your fucking move!" Penelope storms out of the room leaving a very confused Morgan behind.

JJ and Reid had to break into the house with the assistance of Officer Josh. The smell inside was so gross; JJ had to take a step back to repress the gags forming on her throat. After digging for half an hour between papers and trash, they found a secret passage to the basement. What they found in there gave them shills. The small basement was occupied by two beds with cartoon designs printed sheets. The windows were covered with metal bars and someone had used the room recently. Underneath the bead they found a collection of notebooks written in what appeared was child handwriting.

_October 20, 2001_

_It's been 4 years since we moved here and I hate it. Uncle Frederick is mean with us. Yesterday was my birthday. Frederick doesn't let us go out of the house. At night mom takes us for a little walk on the back garden. She is nervous all the time and she thinks somebody is watching us. I'm fourteen now. Meggie gave me this diary as a present. It's an old notepad she found in the basement. There's where we live now. _

"Our unsub most be twenty four nowadays." Reid noted.

_October 22, 2001_

_Mom says we can't gaze through the windows anymore. Yesterday Meggie and I finally managed to place the chair under the window and take a look outside; there was a little boy across the street. He looked surprised to see us. We waved at him but then mom came in screaming an she pulled us off the chair. I don't understand why she hides us._

"Prolonged exclusion can damage severely any child's mind." JJ was horrorized by the content of the diaries.

_October 23,2001_

_Uncle Frederick called me up to his studio. He smelled funny and there were a lot of bottles around him. He screamed at me. He said that if we had never shown up his life would be better. Mom doesn't stop him. I don't understand why she doesn't defend me._

_October 24, 2001_

_My body hurts. Unvle hit me again when I asked why didn't he love me. He showed me the kids playing on the street and then he pointed at me. "Can't you see the difference?" he asked. Mom has started sawing a costume for Meggie but I don't know if she'd let us out that day. I don't think she had decided yet._

"It doesn't surprise me that our killer has a paranoid distorted vision of the world." Reid tried to keep his voice professional, but he was having a hard time hiding how uncomfortable he felt.

_October 27, 2001_

_Meggie is really good. Mom has been gone for a week and we spend many time together. I take care of her. "Don't leave my side Meggie. Don't talk to strangers Meggie. Let the adults talk, Megge…" I order and she obeys. Is like a little game. I like Meggie._

_October 30,2001_

_Uncle says mom isn't going to come back. I cried. Meggie cried. He also says we need to stay paying for our food and beds. He says I need to go up to his studio to pay with blood... I don't want to. He says Meggi should come out too. I don't want him to hurt her like he hurts me. I'm going to take us out of here._

_November 4, 1001_

_I couldn't write any sooner. My body ached too much. I did it. I took us out. I waited for Uncle to go to sleep before forcing the front door. The streets were filled with other kids because it was Halloween. Meggie was really happy. She was wearing the angel costume mom made for her before leaving._

_We walked till we reached the town limits. Meggie was getting tired and she wanted to go back. I didn't let her. We started fighting. I pushed her. She sat there on the road, blinking and trying to understand what just had happened. I swear I was going to get her, but then a car passed over her. I screamed, but the car kept going…._

_She was no longer my sister. She was just a stain of blood in the pavement. I got back home. I told Uncle what happened. He took me to the backyard and showed me a spot. He said "That's where I buried your moma. You people are nothing but trouble. I'm glad the idiot sister of you is death. If you don't want to end like your moma, you need to start thanking me for my house and food..."_

JJ couldn't repress the tears on her eyes. Reid was still shocked by the information and he just nodded when Officer Josh asked if he should inform the rest of the team. He called Hotch and Rose who were already at the hospital and gave them the update. He had just hanged up when suddenly, they all froze still because they heard noises upstairs…

**About brothers….**

**He is my most beloved friend and my bitterest rival, my confidant and my betrayer, my sustainer and my dependent, and scariest of all, my equal.**

_**Gregg Levoy**_


	6. Connecting the Dots

**Hey! I'm sorry for not including any AN in the past chapter, but IO wanted to thanks everyone who had taken the time to review this story. You have all been great supporters and I appreciate the reviews. I'm extremely proud of this chapter because it pretty much explains EEVERYTHING! but there's also a bit of action. I hope this story is not turning out too dark, but is kind of the tone of the show, so…here we go**

**Chapter 6: Connect the dots**

Rose dropped the phone when Josh hanged up the phone. She walked furiously to the hospital room and didn't even care that a nurse warned her entrance was restricted. Hotch followed her closely, ready to step in case of emergency but also incapable of knowing what the hell was going through her mind. They both faced a sick old man lying on the hospital bed with cables and machines connected to every inch of his body. The soft roaming of the machine's engines produced a creepy sound that freaked Rose out.

"Can I help you?" the man asked with a wide smile that revealed his rotten teeth and a pair of eyes shining with pure evil.

"Yes." Rose stated, not sure how to carry on. She took a look at Araron who nodded, encouraging her to continue. "I want you to help me understand."

"It'll be my pleasure, officer." the sick man faked respect after fixing his eyes on Tale's chest while he pretended to take a look at her batch.

"Help me understand…" Rose was atarting to feel uncomfortable by his look and she reached her right hand to raise the man's head; forcing him to look straight into her eyes. "How can someone be so disgusting, gross and sincerely twisted, like you?" the harsh words coming out of her mounth contrasted the soft tone she used.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you are talking about." the man kept the same steady respectful voice but underneath that mask, Hotch knew he was having a blast by playing with them.

"How can someone take two little children from their mom, hide them for years, deny the medical attention they obviously need beat them to death, cover a murder and then sit here…" Rose was shaking with anger, "…and still be able to keep that stupid cynical smile?" she practically barked that last phrase.

The man just smiled.

"What is wrong with you?" Hotch pointed at the machines next to the bed. " I mean, clinically."

"I need a new kidney. Preferably by the end of the week, or…" his voice trailed off.

"See, Frederick we have evidence against you but I know you don't really care about that. Your file is under terminals and your clock is obviously ticking." Hotch's face was still emotionless and unreadable but still he seemed threatening. Rose couldn't help the admiration growing inside her for the man next to her.

"No man wants to die. No matter how terrible, cruel or badass they think they are, when it comes the time, they all fear. Because some man do thing so terrible, so unnamable and so cruel that somehow, terrestrial punishment doesn't seem to be enough. See, men like you, fear what after all this, because even if they don't believe in salvation, there's always the possibility of hell waiting. And I believe you crave for forgiveness, even if it just to soothe your fears when the time comes, Frederick."

"Are you gonna read me my charges? I believe that's the way it's supposed to be." even when Frederick had been very careful not to reveal his intentions, Hotch had enough experience to know he had won the fight.

"You keep the kids locked on your basement." Rose didn't even bothered to formulate her statement as a question.

"It was her idea. Silvia came in one night with the two Mongols on her car, begging me to take them. Those social servers had been messing with her and she was terrified. She didn't come out the house, either. She sat there on her lazy boney ass to worry all day and pray like a nun. Meanwhile I busted my back trying to extend the unemployed checks as far as impossible to feed those things." Frederick explained with an irritated voice. The agents were irritated as well because he still tried to portrait himself as the good guy.

"You beat them on daily bases." Hotch added.

"Not on daily bases. I mean, at first I thought they would change, you know. I tried to teach the older one who to write, but he just sat there drooling like his mom. Those empty black eyes pierced my mind and they won't go away even now. I told him not to stare, but he kept doing it. It was a nightmare." Frederick shifted his position uncomfortably.

"Ohh! So you're the victim now! I get it, poor little boy." Rose faked compassion as the disgust for the man sitting on the bed grew inside her.

"I'll make you cry my name, you dirty little ho…" Before Frederick could formulate his insult, Hotch punched him directly on the face. It had been an emotional reaction, something completely strange to him. He smiled lightly when he saw Rose covering her mouth, surprised by his reaction

" You can't do that! Fuck! You're a fucking cop! I'll sue you fucking pig!" Frederick threatened as he tried to stop the hemorrhage coming off his nose.

"I know the jury will feel sympathetic with a abusive alcoholic like you, but in the mean time, carry on." Hotch was still feeling the adrenaline from the punch and his patience was running out "You killed your sister and bury her on the backyard." "Answer or I swear to God.." Hotch lifted his fist, ready to jab again.

"Aaron…" Rose tried to calm her partner down, but she couldn't find the right words to do so.

"Just buried her. One day, I came back from the bar and find her body swinging off the kitchen beam. I didn't want the suited pigs like you asking questions about the two idiots she left behind, so I put her away." Frederick confessed.

"What about the little girl, Meggie?" Rose suddenly remembered about the accident

"I bet she keeps you warm at night. She takes off that sluttly uniform and rides you all night long…" Frederick teased Hoch with a sadistic smile.

"What about the fucking girl?" Rose repeated desperate.

"What about her, doll? See, this is what amuses me. You have been played. That old man that used to be Sherrigf? Coletti? Well we use to drink ourselves away together? He hated the town, his life, his wife…poor bastard. One night, he drank too much and tried to drive home. The Mongol and his stupid sister had run away and Coletti hit the girl." Frederick had kept the secret all his life, but he knew there was nothing to lose now.

"He covered up the accident…" Rose started realizing she had been part of a play.

"...and handle the investigation himself. The stupid boy came screaming and crying and I had to shut him up. He got like that every same day every damn year. I'll let him out the house and he came back the morning after. I never knew what he did while he was out." Frederick ended the story with a cynical innocence statement

"Bullshit. He came covered in blood and you didn't know? Bullshit." Rose accused shaking her head. She had been so naïve to fall for Coletti's lies and now she had discovered a whole net of secrets and intrigues.

"Can't prove anything."

"Coletti hide the missing persons and murders because he felt guilty for the death of the girl…" Hotch was finally understanding the whole plot.

"…and he named you Sheriff because he knew the only thing you're good at is at spreading those fine legs of yours open." this time, it was Rose the one that punched Frederick on the face…

**I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.- Martin Luther King**


	7. Playing our Cards

**Hey everyone! I'm just wanted to take a few minutes to thank you for the reviews and for adding me to your alerts :D Also I wanted to wish everyone a nice and prosperous Christmas, because more likely you won't hear from me till 27 or 28. That been said, Enjoy!**

Chapter 7: Playing our cards

Josh signaled the two FBI agents to keep quiet and move behind him. The three officers climbed up the stairs quietly but in a rush and then jumped into the upper floor. There they saw a man, approximately twenty five, balancing in the same spot with an ax on his hand. Apparently he didn't notice them, even thought they were only a few meters apart.

JJ noticed the clothes of the unsub were dirty and covered with dry blood. The man just stood there, sucking the sleeve of his denim jacket and balancing.

"Who are you?" Reid approached a few inched but he froze when the unsub tightened the grip on his weapon.

"David Festa. Pine street 234. David Festa. Pine street 234. D…" the man start mumbling as his balancing became more anxious.

"It's ok." JJ's soft voice seemed to have a soothing effect on David. "David, you have done some bad things, you know that?"

"I just want to make them go away!" David screamed like he was in pain.

"Who?" Officer Josh still firmly pointed his weapon to the killers head.

"The voices in my head. The screaming. Make them go away." David begged.

"We'll do so, dear." JJ assured as she lower her gun. "We know what happened to Meggie." At the mention of his sister's name, David stopped moving. "We need you to come with us, ok?"

David gave them a small nod and dropped the ax. In matter of seconds, Officer Josh was next to him, placing the handcuffs. David started screaming and twisting around.

"David, listen to me!" Reid raised his voice, trying to catch his attention. "We will help you, ok? I promise you that. But we need you to come with us to the station."

The promise of help seemed to calm the killed down as he followed the agents calmly to the station.

JJ was thinking how lucky they had been. It actually made her a bit paranoic. It had all been more quiet and calm that what she had imagined and a part of her couldn't believe that the suspect was waiting for them on the back seat of the patrol car as Josh wrote down the report. She turned to Reid just to see the same feeling of anxiety reflected on his eyes. they were afraid this all might turn to be a dream and the fragile balance might be broken at any second. Little could they know it would be…

"They got him." Penelope entered the conference room with a shiny smile. She was eager to go home, forget about all this mess and take a late bubble bath after hitting the Natural Essences store around the corner.

She couldn't hide and amused grin when she saw the despair on Derek's eyes. He clearly desired to be there when they caught the unsub. He was such an action man! Derek was lying on the couch and staring at the ceiling. "Ok, Hot Stuff, what's wrong?" Penelope lay down near her friend.

"Are you still mad at me, gorgeous?"Derek kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He was trying very hard to keep his mind focused with García so close to him.

"No." García sighted and then tuned her body around to face Derek, who rotated his head to face hers as well. If somebody entered the conference room and saw them, they would have some trouble explaining their positions. "I was just emotional after I talk with Kevin..."

"How's Lynch?" Derek frowned and pretended to care, but really the last thing he wanted to talk about was the well fare of Kevin Lynch.

"I wouldn't know. He broke up with me this morning." Penelope tried to make her voice sound casual but she could feel the amazed look of Derek.

"Why?" Morgan sounded really amazed and García couldn't help to blush furiously as she focused on breathing. Derek was in fact amazed by the simple act of someone breaking up with her, something he found unconceivable himself.

"Well, mostly because I didn't want to move away to a farm and live raising sheep for the rest of my life." Penelope felt a bit embarrassed but when she saw the amused grin on Derek's face she knew they were thinking the exact same thing. "I know, I thought he was joking too!" She let out a laugh and Derek joined her. "But this morning he calls me and starts talking about breeds and special food and the 100 things your barn needs and all those things he read on Farming for Dummies."

"You're kidding, right?" Derek started cracking up again.

"Nop, it's a real book. I googled it." García confessed giggling.

"I will never understand how he did it!" Derek smiled softly now and his eyes were looking straight at hers.

"How he did what?" Penelope asked confused and Derek felt his heart warming as he tought she couldn't look any cuter.

"Find the strength to stop doing this." Derek explained and then took a second. He took a second because his mind was replaying all those shots he had in the past and had he could hear his conscience screaming "Don't let this one go!"

So, after what seemed an eternity, Derek kissed Penelope. It was so…right. The taste of her mouth was just like he had imagined, the warm breath of his mouth filled her like she had so many times desired and for a minute, the whole world seemed to fit into the right place.

It was extremely unfortunate for Agent Rossi to enter the room at that exact same second. Not because he felt embarrassed or offended by the obvious infraction of his two coworkers to the bureau rules; mostly he felt bad because he had to interrupt them and also because he knew that JJ would never forgive him for doing so.

Mat had already lost the count of Tequila shots he had taken. Even his brother had avoided the issue, ignoring the empty liquor bottle on his way out. It was not his fault. It was nobody's fault but the lack of news on the week. Usually big papers wouldn't have given much attention to the killings on the small town. After all, with over a thousand murders across the country per year, nobody really gave a hit about Grace.

But news had been slow that week. No terrorism threads. No hurricanes or floods. Not amazing discoveries from the NASA. It seemed like the whole world quiet down and step back. and that's how the murders end up on the front pages of every big newspaper of the country. Ink was still fresh when Mat received a call from Standford saying that his application had been rejected and that he should consider other educative alternatives. So did Yale…and mostly every big college on the country.

Matt knew that was it. His parents couldn't afford college without a scholarship and no colleague want to risk to the media attention that his admission would bring. He was stuck on this little town for the rest of his life. Always followed by whispering behind his back. Always surrounded by memories of the girl he used to love. Always…it was a long time.

Too long. And way too unbearable. Matt wasn't afraid when he grabbed the gun from his father's desk because he knew deep inside him, he got nothing to lose.

**Every man has the right to risk his own life in order to preserve it. Has it ever been said that a man who throws himself out the window to escape from a fire is guilty of suicide? ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau**


	8. Closure

**My Christmas gift to you, guys! This is the final chapter and kind of an epilogue. Hope you enjoy and have nice festivities Thanks to all my supporters!**

If Reid had learned anything on his career was in fact, that anything could happen. That's why he always tried to be ready for every possibility. He always had an extra tire on his car, he always arrived fifteen minutes before and he kept a first aid kit on his toilet. But as Reid was about to learn, there's some things in life we can't predict.

Ironically, it all began as a good night. The cold October wind was blowing and scattering the leftover leaves off the deserted sidewalks. It was more the night for a novel than the night for an arrest. The killer was secured on the patrol car and Reid was rubbing his hands, trying to warm them. JJ was supervising like a hawk the filling of forms that Officer Josh was doing.

Maybe it all happens for a reason. Maybe everyone was on the right spot for things going down the way they did. Reid was the first to spot the shooter. It was hard to distinguish the shape of a person approaching the vehicle and that's mainly why Reid didn't say anything. In fact he thought it was just a late neighborhood walker. He didn't react until the walker reached the passenger window. Even then Reid believed he was a curious witness. It wasn't until the walker pulled out a gun and shoot twice at David Festa that Reid reacted.

His first instinct was to get cover, but instead he raced to JJ and pulled her down to cover with the patrol car. She resisted at first but then she kneeled down next to him. From the ground both had to pull Officer Josh to the ground because he was still in shock. They couldn't hear the shooter, but they could hear him passing in circles, sobbing and mumbling things to himself. JJ gave Reid a terrified look but he placed his fingers on his lips, signaling her to keep quiet as he pulled out his cell phone. He texted as fast as he could and send the message, praying to be heard quickly enough.

Penelope heard Rossi clearing his throat but she pretended not to. She was so sure this moment was a dream she was afraid that if she pulled back from the kiss she would wake up on her bead like so many other times. "Screw him!" Penelope thought as she heard Rossi coughing louder this time. Unfortunately, she could feel how Derek started pulling back. She instinctively tried to capture his lips a few seconds more and she didn't cared about what Derek could think of her for doing so. If this was a dream, it was hers, and she was going to make the best of it.

Finally when she gave up and broke the kiss she faced the smiling face of Derek Morgan. She didn't recall have seen him smiling like that before and she couldn't repress a giggle. Derek helped her up and they both faced agent Rossi, who looked like he wished to be anywhere but there. Garc'ia felt her face blushing furiously, but she relaxed when Derek took her hand and caressed it lightly. He had her back.

Because of one of those rare situations where faith seems to work our way trough awkward situations, at that same exact second that Rossi was going to break the silence, _"Party Rock Athem"_ filled the room. Penelope raced to her cell phone still smiling but when she read the text she had received, her smile vanished.

_Trapped behind a patrol car. One shooter. David Festa is injured or death. Requesting backup immediately. Sending the address…call Hotch-_

Through the darkness and quiet of the night, two black vans headed to the same point ignoring every stop sign and breaking every speed limit on their way.

Inside the first van, Rose took turns between giving Hotch concerned looks and trying to see thought the dark to see if they're any closer. She knew he blames himself for how things turned out, but she couldn't find the right words to convince him otherwise. She wanted to say everything would be okay, but she wasn't so sure about that.

The other van was driven by Derek, who felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins. It was ironical how the two drivers blame themselves for the situation for their own very personal reasons. Rossi appeared to be serene as always, but inside he was a mess as well.

They arrived the scene, each van parked in a different side of the street. After all their passengers took their positions there was a weird Mexican standoff moment. None of them wanted to risk shooting to the target, so they all waited.

The hoodie of the shooter slide a bit further, revealing his face. Rose couldn't repress a gasp when she saw it was Matt. He was clearly drunk and he kept walking in circles.

"Freeze!" Rossi ordered almost screaming. Matt turned to face him, slightly confused, but still pointing his gun at him.

"Drop the gun and get on your knees." Rossi ordered again. This time Matt made a grin and pointed his gun, ready to shoot. Derek's finger pressed the trigger.

"Matt!" Rose's scream caught Matt's attention just in time to make him turn around. This simple act saved his life, deviating the bulled heading to his heart and making it sink in his shoulder with a cry of pain.

Once he was on the floor, the agents approached the patrol car. Reid, Josh and JJ left their hiding spot looking all pale white but safe and relieved. Only Rose approaches Matt, lying on the floor and replaced the gun on his hand with her own hand to give him some support. Matt's blue eyes are shinning with tears and his voice is weak when he asked. "Is he death?"

Rose looked over to Hotch, who checked David Festa's vital signs and then gave a negative nod. "Yes, he is dead." Rose confirmed with a nod forming on his throat.

Far away on the distance, sirens of ambulances could be heard. Matt closed his eyes knowing that his faith was sealed.

"What's wrong with her?" JJ pointed Garcí who was curled up in the plane seat, looking through the window and not talking to anybody.

"I don't know." Derek answered sincerely as he took a seat next to him. "What's wrong baby girl?" he asked as he surrounded her body with his right arm.

"So now what?" Penelope wondered. " Are you going to pretend the kiss never happened?"

Derek stood up and García felt her heart sink as she watched him return to the crowd. "I kissed Penelope García." that was all he said. Then he looked at Hotch. "And I'm okey with that meaning I'm fired."

"Relax, agent Morgan." Hotch smiled (an actual smile) as he pointed to Rose, who was lying on his shoulder. "I think I'm not the best to give you a lecture about fraternization policies."

"There's way too many secrets and plots on that town. I consider myself your souvenir from Grace." Rose defended herself.

"Do you think Josh can handle being sheriff?" Rossi asked

"His first act was arresting Tom Coletti. He will be just fine." Rose assured as she took back her spot on Aaron's shoulder.

"Well, now that I'm not fired, I need to ask for the night out, Hotch." Derek started and then pointed at Penelope. "I need to convince certain person I'm here for real and I was thinking we could have our first real date."

"Permission granted." Hotch agreed as Derek practically sprinted back to García.

"Am I forgiven, sweetheart?" Derek asked to his brand new girlfriend.

"You still have to earn it." Penelope responded with a smile.


End file.
